The hearing on the Law on languages ​​in North Macedonia is postponed

The Constitutional Court of North Macedonia has decided to postpone the hearing on the Law of Languages ​​for an indefinite date.

In this session, for which it will be decided when it will be held, experts in the field and representatives of political parties are expected to participate, who will present their arguments regarding the contestation of the Law on Languages.

The proposal to postpone the session was made by the judge of the Constitutional Court, Elizabeta Dukovska, who is responsible for this case. Judge Dobrilla Kacarska was against this decision, who emphasized that the court should be the one that gives the final word.

The Law on Languages ​​foresees the extended use of the Albanian language and mentions it specifically in Article 2.

The session at the Constitutional Court for the review of the Law on languages ​​began with the absence of two Albanian judges, Osman Kadriu and Naser Ajdari, boycotting the process.

Through the boycott, Kadriu and Ajdari intend to block the initiation of the procedure for this law. This is related to a conclusion adopted by the Constitutional Court during 2022 and 2023, which requires the unanimous participation of all members for procedures related to the Law on Languages, the Prespa Agreement and the Law on Electronic Communications.

On Tuesday, the first deputy prime minister of North Macedonia, Izet Mejhiti, who comes from the Albanian coalition VLEN, assured during a press conference that the Law on languages ​​"will not be affected".

"We, as VLEN, said that the law will not be affected, the Constitutional Court confirmed this. The document has been released that does not affect the Law on Languages, nor the official use of the Albanian language. The same was said by the prime minister, as well as the head of state," stated Mejhiti.

Earlier, during the last week, Mejhiti had announced that the Albanian judges in the Constitutional Court would boycott the session of December 11, and with this, according to him, "the decision could not have legitimacy".

"The president has also announced that all judges must participate and if someone is absent, then the decision is not legitimate", Mejhiti said on December 6.

Which document is it about?

According to a recently published document, prepared by a constitutional judge, it is stated that "The Constitutional Court should not initiate the procedure for evaluating the constitutionality of the Law on the use of languages".

The document states that on December 11, the procedure to assess the constitutionality of the law will not begin, as it is based on the country's Constitution.

"The content of the contested Law on the use of languages ​​as a whole has its own constitutional basis and justification in Amendment V of the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia. Therefore, we believe that its constitutionality cannot be questioned either with this amendment, or with Article 51 - paragraphs 1 and 2, Article 8 - paragraph 1, as stated in the initiative," the document states.

A sign in Macedonian and Albanian shows the way to Skopje Square, North Macedonia.

However, the document suggests that the procedure be initiated for some general wording and two specific provisions of the law, related to the use of symbols on coins and court proceedings. This means that Wednesday's hearing will not examine the constitutionality of the entire law, but only some of its provisions.

The Constitutional Court, for its part, has announced that it will not comment on media distributions, the reliability of published documents, as well as statements and political reactions that come on the eve of the specific session.

Law on languages

The law on the use of languages ​​consists of 25 articles. This law entered the parliamentary procedure on September 5, 2017. The then president, Gjorgje Ivanov, refused to enact it, arguing that the law was unconstitutional. However, on January 11, 2018, the Law on Languages ​​was approved with 69 votes in favor, with no votes against or abstentions. The opposition, led at the time by VMRO-DPMNE, did not participate in the session. 

Like President Ivanov, the opposition also described the law as unconstitutional. The main changes that the new law brought were: "the use of the Albanian language in court proceedings, on banknotes and in police uniforms".

After approval, the law was opposed by 13 initiatives presented by citizens, political parties and various associations. Among them was the largest Macedonian party VMRO-DPMNE, which at the time was in opposition and had committed to make "corrections" after returning to power.

Although VMRO DPMNE contested almost every aspect, from the way the law was approved to its content, now Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, who comes from this party, emphasized that "nothing will happen" and assured that the situation is "under control".

"I ask fellow Albanian citizens, all Macedonians, to be calm. All the work is under control, everything is under control, let's not allow ourselves to fall prey to the provocations of these people", declared Mickoski on Tuesday.

Earlier, he had said that the entire law is not being contested, but "only two or three provisions".

The Albanian opposition party, the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), which is standing guard in front of the Constitutional Court, thinks otherwise.

DUI has expressed concern that if Article 23, paragraph 5 of the Law on Languages ​​is repealed, then the same may become unenforceable.

MP Arbër Ademi from the DUI said on Tuesday that "18 provisions are at risk". "If a comma is changed, regardless of the context, it can invalidate the law in its entirety, let alone 18 provisions. Read article 23 paragraph 5 it is attempted to be abrogated is proposal to be repealed, then no institution will apply the Law on the Albanian language", said Arbër Ademi during a debate on TV21.

What is being contested?

"The initiators oppose the entirety of the Law from the point of view of Amendment V of the Constitution, because it expanded the constitutional framework given in this amendment regarding the use of languages ​​of non-majority communities and determined the equality of another language spoken by at least 20% of citizens, with the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet as the official language throughout the territory of the Republic and in its international relations", it is stated in the summary report of the Constitutional Court on what is the object of opposition to 13 initiatives.

Consequently, the articles or parts of the articles for which it is proposed to initiate the procedure for the evaluation of constitutionality, are also part of the remarks of the Venice Commission.

What are these observations?

In 2019, the Venice Commission assessed the Law on Languages, saying that some of its provisions exceeded international standards for regional and minority languages.

The commission requested:

Reviewing the provisions for bilingualism in judicial proceedings, recommending that these provisions be removed or limited, due to the technical and administrative difficulties they may cause.

The measure for the efficient implementation of language requirements, based on the provisions of the previous Law of 2008, to guarantee their applicability without creating confusion, although it, according to legal experts, involved a narrow interpretation.

Revision of Article 3 of the Law on Languages, which provides for the use of the Albanian language in institutional communications and other areas, requiring a clearer definition of the scope of application to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in practice.

Albanian academics with a letter to the Constitution

Similar to the 13 initiatives mentioned above, over 250 Albanian intellectuals have signed an open letter, which is addressed to the Constitutional Court to act professionally and not with politically motivated decisions, because, as it is said, "arbitrary decisions can bring serious consequences in interethnic relations".

They recall that the past work of the Constitutional Court has caused "tensions and dissatisfaction, whenever it has taken unilateral and arbitrary decisions, which have brought serious consequences to inter-ethnic relations and have violated the national rights of Albanians for equality and justice , realized through institutional channels".

The law on the use of languages ​​has been sitting on the shelves of the Constitutional Court for five years.

The balancer, now repealed, and the Law of Languages ​​were included in the agenda a few months after the VMRO DPMNE took power in North Macedonia. /REL/ (A2 Televizion)